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Tue, 03 Mar 2015 22:39:05 +0000Joomla! 1.5 - Open Source Content Managementen-gbGrand Jury Indictment Against Roger Clemenshttp://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4639:grand-jury-indictment-against-roger-clemens&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112
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Miguel Tejada, seen here while playing with the Oakland A's, is expected to plead guilty Weds.to lying to Congressional investigators as part ofhearings addressing the Mitchell Report.

UPDATE: Tejada pleads guilty.

Houston Astros All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada has plead guilty in a Washington federal courthouse to charges of lying to Congressional investigators. The filing of United States of America v. Miguel Tejada, is worded so that the 2002 American League Most Valuable Player and five-time all-star will face misdemeanor charges, which will most likely result in a fine, and a statement to the court that the matter will not occur again. He is not being charged with any felony perjury charges. Based upon the statute filed against Tejada, jail time seems highly unlikely.

Tejada appeared in U.S. District Court of Washington at 11am (ET) on Wednesday.

According to The AP, “The charge came in a legal document called a ‘criminal information,’ which can be filed only with the defendant's consent and typically signals a plea deal.”

Tejada is charged with lying to Congressional investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2005. At the time, he denied knowledge of an ex-teammate's use of performance-enhancing drugs.

While the player is unknown, it is believed to be a player for the Oakland Athletics.

According to the documents filed on Tuesday, Tejada "unlawfully withheld pertinent information from the committee because defendant Tejada, before and during his interview with the committee staff, then and there well knew that player #1, one of his teammates on the Oakland Athletics, had used steroids and HGH."

In 2003, Adam Piatt’s locker was located next to Tejada’s in the Oakland Athletics clubhouse. According to Piatt, Tejada asked specifically if he had any steroids. Piatt believed that Tejada asked him because Piatt was in good shape and generally friendly with him. Piatt had several conversations with Tejada before a transaction occurred. Piatt admitted he had access to steroids and human growth hormone and agreed to obtain them for Tejada. Piatt recalled that he provided Tejada with testosterone or Deca-Durabolin, as well as human growth hormone. Piatt emphasized that he did not know whether Tejada actually used the substances.

Piatt’s bank provided two checks deposited into Piatt’s account that had been written to him from Miguel Tejada. The checks are dated March 21, 2003 and are in the amounts of $3,100 and $3,200 respectively. Both are included in the Appendix; one is shown below.

When Tejada was interviewed by Congressional investigators, the following exchange is what prompted the charges that Tejada will plead guilty to lying about on Weds. In regards to Piatt.

“Committee Staff: Has there been discussions among other players about steroids?

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]]>maury@bizofbaseball.com (Maury Brown)Mitchell ReportWed, 11 Feb 2009 05:43:10 +0000McNamee Sends Investigators to Houstonhttp://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2163:mcnamees-lawyers-sending-pis-to-investigate-clemens&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2163:mcnamees-lawyers-sending-pis-to-investigate-clemens&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112Lawyers for Brian McNamee are planning to send two private investigators to Houston to investigate Roger Clemens in an attempt to further discredit him as part of Clemens’ defamation lawsuit, and possibly unearth other damaging information.

The twist is, Clemens’ lawyer Rusty Hardin, did much the same less than six months ago, sending two PIs to New York in an attempt to discredit McNamee. As reported by the New York Times:

Richard Emery, one of McNamee’s lawyers, said Thursday that the two investigators — Gerry Kane, a former commanding officer of the Manhattan robbery squad, and Stephen Davis, a former detective — were already working on McNamee’s behalf and would go to Houston if the motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by Clemens last January is denied.

“They are going to be my Belk and Yarbrough,” Emery said, referring to the two former Houston officers — Billy Belk and Jim Yarbrough — who, on behalf of Clemens’s lead lawyer, Rusty Hardin, interviewed McNamee in December and secretly tape-recorded the questions and answers.

“They will be looking at everything,” Emery added in reference to his own investigators.

As noted, the investigation can look into all facets of Clemens’ background, including any evidence that might point to him using PEDs. If that were the case, Jeff Novitzky, the former IRS agent, who is now with the FDA, could use the evidence against Clemens in a possible perjury case for lying before members of Congress.

Clemens, to date, has not dropped the defamation lawsuit. Recently, tabloid-esc reports have had Clemens connected to not one, but several, extramarital affairs, including one with country music star Mindy McCready that started when she was reportedly 15 years of age. The reports have further discredited Clemens' credibility.

However, it should be noted that while this news is damaging to Clemens in the court of public opinion, in the case of the defamation lawsuit, it revolves around Clemens' public standing at the time of McNamee's claims that he used performance-enhancing substances. Any of the news of his extramarital affairs after that point would irrelvant, no matter how damaging, and almost certainly be inadmisable in court. So, while McNamee's lawyers can sniff around for anything and everything as part of the discovery phase, and release damage information to the press, in terms of the defamation lawsuit, it may have little or no bearing. The actions of McNamee's lawyers are seen as a method by which the pressure of any negative findings being made public would force Clemens to drop the defamation lawsuit to prevent further embaressment, or in the case of possible findings on PED use, place him in the sights of federal investigators who are looking into whether Clemens perjured himself before Congress.

The lines were easily noticeable when Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee testified before Congress in mid-February: Republicans supported Clemens, while Democrats sided with McNamee.

Now, the partisan nature of the Clemens v. McNamee testimony has moved further along.

The top Republican on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Tom Davis, issued a 109-page report that challenges the credibility of Clemens’ former trainer, Brian McNamee, who claims to have injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, and was highlighted within the Mitchell Report. As reported by The AP :

"Did Roger Clemens lie to us?" Davis said in a release accompanying the report.

"Some of the evidence seems to say he did; other information suggests he told the truth," the Virginia Republican said. "It's a far more complicated picture than some may want to believe. Memories fade and recollections differ. That's human nature, not criminal conduct."

The report does not take issue with the basis for the criminal referral -- the core matter of whether Clemens lied to Congress about taking performance-enhancers. But it does question McNamee's versions of events on several points.

The report includes portions of additional interviews with new witnesses about certain events, including the now infamous party at Jose Canseco's house.

The report entitled "Weighing the Committee Record: A Balanced Review of the Evidence Regarding Performance Enhancing Drugs in Baseball" is a rebuttal of sorts to an 18-page memo released by the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Henry Waxman in late February.

]]>maury@bizofbaseball.com (Maury Brown)Mitchell ReportWed, 26 Mar 2008 01:22:30 +0000MLB, MLBPA to Talk Changes to Drug Policy This Weekhttp://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2031:mlb-mlbpa-to-talk-changes-to-drug-policy-this-week&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2031:mlb-mlbpa-to-talk-changes-to-drug-policy-this-week&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112Lawyers for MLBowners and the MLB Players’ Association will meet in Arizona this week, in an effort to see if an agreement to MLB’s drug policy can be hammered out before the beginning of the season.

The sides planned to talk this week in Arizona during the final week of spring training. This would be the third time players and owners toughened drug rules since their initial agreement in August 2002. The sides also made changes in January 2005, when sanctions for first offenders were instituted, and in November 2005, when the penalty for an initial positive test was increased from 10 days to 50 games.

If they strike a deal, the 15-day suspensions imposed on Kansas City's Jose Guillen and Baltimore's Jay Gibbons in December after being linked to performance-enhancing drugs most likely would be rescinded as part of an overall amnesty for players mentioned in the report, two people familiar with the talks said Monday.

[…]

If there isn't an agreement, arbitrator Shyam Das probably would be asked to decide whether to stay Guillen's suspension pending a grievance hearing. The players' association filed a grievance on behalf of the outfielder, but no hearing dates have been scheduled.

In light of the recommendations made in the Mitchell Report, we have now been asked to reopen our contract for a third time. That is something which neither unions nor employers often do. There are certainly strong policy reasons why an employer and a union should respect the sanctity of a collective bargaining agreement, including its term, and not engage in frequent mid-term renegotiations.

Even so, we have never refused to discuss changes to our JDA at any time during its term, and we will not do so now. We have already held meetings with the Commissioner and his representatives regarding possible changes in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report, and more meetings will be held soon. Indeed, the Commissioner made a proposal to us last week, and we expect to have further discussions, and proposals of our own in the near future. This subject will obviously be one of those discussed in our Spring Training meetings with the players on each of the 30 teams.

One recommendation within the Mitchell Report that may be part of the discussion this week may include an independent testing agency, as opposed to the current Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC) that is responsible for overseeing the testing program.

As pressure continues to run unabated in the wake of the release of the Mitchell Report, Fehr said yesterday that if an efficient and effective testing procedure was created that allowed for testing of substances, such as hGH over time, then he would consider approving it. As reported in the NY Times:

“If and when a blood test is available and it can be signed and validated by people other than those that are trying to sell it to you, then we’d have to take a hard look at it,” Fehr said Thursday after meeting with the Baltimore Orioles. “We’d have to see what it is and try to make a judgment as to whether it is fair and appropriate.”

As to Jeter’s comments last week, Fehr said, “I haven’t talked to Derek about it, but my guess is if something is there, it works and it wouldn’t be too bothersome, I’d think about it. I guess a lot of people would. But that depends on what it is and how it’s done.”

The comments by Fehr come one day after executives from the major sports leagues testified before Congressional committee. In his opening statements, he said:

Of course, it is possible that a scientifically valid blood test for HGH will be developed and become commercially available before a valid urine test. However, as Senator Mitchell has indicated, if there is a blood test developed in the near future it may well be of very limited utility; i.e. a player will need to have used HGH a very short time before the test in order for it to show up. That remains to be seen. In addition there may well be very serious issues involved with blood tests for athletes, particularly with respect to tests on competition days, and in baseball we play nearly every day for seven months. As of now, no major professional sport has blood testing for PEDs.

Nevertheless, as I said at the Government Reform hearing last month, if and when a scientifically valid blood test becomes available, the players will consider it in good faith at that time based on the facts then known.

]]>maury@bizofbaseball.com (Maury Brown)Mitchell ReportFri, 29 Feb 2008 16:05:45 +0000Third Time the Charm? Talk of Opening Up MLB's CBAhttp://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1956:third-time-the-charm-talk-of-opening-up-mlbs-cba&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1956:third-time-the-charm-talk-of-opening-up-mlbs-cba&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112Today, Executive Director for the MLBPA, Donald Fehr is appearing on Capitol Hill, this time before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (read Fehr’s opening statements). The topic, once again, is the subject of performance-enhancing drugs in sports.

Within Fehr’s opening statements, and confirmed through sources, the MLBPA has been formerly asked by the Commissioner’s Office to reopen the Collective Bargaining Agreement to address the Joint Drug Agreement (JDA) (read the current JDA) to address aspects such as year-round testing, and the use of an independent oversight. While not mentioned, the latter may include an independent testing agency, as opposed to the current Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC) that is responsible for overseeing the testing program.

As Fehr said in his opening statement today:

In light of the recommendations made in the Mitchell Report, we have now been asked to reopen our contract for a third time. That is something which neither unions nor employers often do. There are certainly strong policy reasons why an employer and a union should respect the sanctity of a collective bargaining agreement, including its term, and not engage in frequent mid-term renegotiations.

Even so, we have never refused to discuss changes to our JDA at any time during its term, and we will not do so now. We have already held meetings with the Commissioner and his representatives regarding possible changes in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report, and more meetings will be held soon. Indeed, the Commissioner made a proposal to us last week, and we expect to have further discussions, and proposals of our own in the near future. This subject will obviously be one of those discussed in our Spring Training meetings with the players on each of the 30 teams.

My name is Donald M. Fehr, and I serve as the Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). I appear today in response to the Chairman’s invitation to testify.

Let me begin by once again stating the MLBPA’s position. As I said when I appeared before this Committee nearly three years ago, the Major League Baseball Players Association does not condone or support the use by players - or by anyone else - of any unlawful substance, nor do we support or condone the unlawful use of any legal substance. I cannot put it more plainly. The unlawful use of any substance is wrong...

Catcher Paul Lo Duca issued the following statement regarding his being named in the Mitchell Report ahead of Washington Nationals Spring Training:

In regards to Senator Mitchell's Report, I apologize to my family, all of my fans and to the entire baseball community for mistakes in judgment I made in the past and for the distraction that has resulted. I am fully committed to being the best player and person I can be, on and off the field, for the Washington Nationals and the entire baseball community. I recognize the importance of my role in the community as a professional athlete, and I intend to focus my energies on making a positive impact in that regard. So that I can focus on making positive contributions and avoid creating further distractions, I respectfully decline to comment any further on the content of the Mitchell Report.

]]>maury@bizofbaseball.com (Paul Lo Duca)Mitchell ReportSat, 16 Feb 2008 15:20:54 +0000Photos: Brian McNamee Physical Evidencehttp://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1918:photos-brian-mcnamee-physical-evidence&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1918:photos-brian-mcnamee-physical-evidence&catid=55:mitchell-report&Itemid=112For the majority of post-Mitchell Report dispute between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, it was a “he said/he said” with each side simply claiming that the other was lying.

That changed when Brian McNamee revealed that he had saved syringes, cotton and gauze pads that he claims he used to inject Roger Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, as well as vials and containers that he claims were the substances themselves.

Most all legal experts dispute whether these items would ever be permitted in a court of law based on the handling of them—the method they were stored by McNamee leads to a host of contamination issues. Regardless, photos of the physical evidence were turned over to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as exhibits for the 2/13/08 hearings.

Below is each McNamee photo exhibit. Selecting a thumbnail will show the image in high-resolution.